You Must Sit Down (John 13:1-17)
April 12, 2015
To encounter Christ together,
To share our lives with one another,
To sacrificially care for those God has placed in our path.
- CG Mission Statement
Worship: And Can It Be that I Should Gain Words: Charles Wesley; Music: Thomas Campbell
(Here is a psalm/song to help your group as you worship. You can go through it together or in groups in meditation and/or in prayer)
And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me who caused His pain,
For me who Him to death pursued.
Amazing love, how can it be
That thou my God should die for me?
Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.
He left His Father’s throne above
So free, so infinite His grace—
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race:
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!
Chorus
Amazing love, how can it be
That thou my God should die for me?
Chorus
Chorus
Icebreaker
If you had a friend who always insisted on picking up the check, how would you respond?
Text for Discussion: John 13:1-17
Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father,
having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into
the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands,
and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a
towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them
with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?”
7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him,
“You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to
him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to
wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to
betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments
and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and
you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's
feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a
servant[c] is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things,
blessed are you if you do them.
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Aid for Discussion: Sermon Summary
The story of the Last Supper is also the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. Jesus says they do not understand this act
(v12), but do we? Washing feet was servant’s work, so this was a humble act of service (v15). As followers of Christ we can see
nothing (not even the most menial task) as beneath us. Even Judas’ feet are washed, meaning we are called to extend
ourselves even to the undeserving. But Jesus isn’t simply giving us a lesson in humility (v7).
The key to this passage is in the dialogue between Jesus and Peter. Can we bear to have Jesus kneel before us and wash our
feet? Peter pulls his feet away (v6), and so would we. We cannot accept the love of God on God’s terms. We see washing
someone’s feet as a humbling act, but it’s so much harder to be served than to serve. Why is it so difficult to accept charity,
especially from God? As CS Lewis said, “It’s the sort of love we need but not the sort we want,” because it is not dependent on
anything we could ever do to earn it. We must simply keep receiving it. We have nothing to offer back to God to deserve His
love. Ever. If we don’t allow others to do things for us or to receive their charity, what makes us think we’ve received it from
God? That’s grace: It’s amazing, but it’s also traumatic.
We think the love of God changes a human life, but technically this isn’t right since God dearly loves every life, yet clearly not
every life is changed by this fact. It’s not the love of God that changes us; it’s receiving His love that does. Receiving it
1 requires us to admit our need, and to go on accepting it requires us to admit our ongoing need. It’s an assault on our pride
because we deeply want to be in control of our lives. Jesus kneels before us asking, “Let me love you.” Jesus must love in the
only way He can: on His terms. But we withdraw because to receive it demands that we surrender to it. “We don’t dare accept
love unconditionally because that would mean accepting the frightening helplessness and vulnerability that is our true
condition.” Jesus is demonstrating the full extent of His love; this humble act prophetically and symbolically points to when
He humbles Himself again on the cross (v4). If we recoil at His washing our feet, how much more will we when He dies for us?
Are we letting God love us? Three quick tests:
Do we sense the trauma of grace in our own lives? While we strive to build an identity from our accomplishments, grace says
we cannot validate our existence by what we do. Grace is an assault on our pride, contradicting the very means by which we
seek to define our lives.
Are we cultivating a servant’s heart in our lives towards others? Jesus desires us to adopt His posture toward others – to
kneel and serve others as servants in His name (v15). We can know we’ve been cultivating servants’ hearts by how we
respond when people actually treat us like we are one. With the love of God in our hearts, we don’t need others to
acknowledge us (v17). The test of whether we are actually receiving grace is if you ever extend it.
Are we forgiving, merciful, kind people? The test of whether we really get grace is if we’re giving it. If we insist on dealing
with others according to what they deserve, we betray our own inability to comprehend the meaning of grace and therefore
our own incapacity to receive pardon (Matt 6:12,15). The forgiving spirit is a condition – not of God’s offer of pardon – but of
our receiving it. To refuse to forgive is to refuse to be forgiven.
If we are not confident that God accepts us completely, then we are just like Peter, pulling back our feet. It looks humble, but
it means we are still relying on ourselves. Only Christianity offers a God whose service we must accept instead of a God who
we must serve to be accepted. The only unforgivable sin of Christianity is to put ourselves beyond the reach of God’s
forgiveness. Love says we must sit down and allow ourselves to be washed – not just our feet but all of us. On the other side of
dying to our old ways, there is a new and better life God has for us. But first we must sit down and surrender and allow
ourselves to be loved.
Guiding Question of the Week
(This question is intended as a target for the whole conversation. Do not ask for responses now. It will be repeated later in the study.)
To what degree do you sense the trauma of grace in your own life?
Questions for Discussion
(Remember it is better to wrestle deeply with two good questions than gloss over many. Sub-bullets are intended for potential follow-up.)
1.
Imagine yourself in Peter’s position. How would you have responded to Jesus coming to wash your feet?
o Do you agree that it’s easier to be the washer than the wash-ee? Why or why not?
2.
Guiding Question: The trauma of grace is that it is an assault on our pride, at odds with the very means by
which we often define our lives. To what degree do you sense the trauma of grace in your own life?
o Do you have trouble accepting God’s love? How about accepting His love on His terms? Why is it so
difficult to accept?
o Do you find yourself becoming a more forgiving, merciful, and kind person?
o Are you cultivating a servant’s heart towards others?
3.
Are you confident that God accepts you? Why or why not? (cf. Rom 8:1,16-17, Eph 2:4-6)
o Is there a part of your life or past that you are not letting Christ wash clean?
4.
Many of the people God has placed in our lives aren’t receiving Christ’s grace, because they are unsure what to
think of Christ himself. Exploring Jesus Dinners start next week and offer a uniquely open environment for
those hesitant about the idea of faith. Who are two people God has placed in your life that you can invite or
encourage to join an Exploring Jesus Dinner next week? (pacificcrossroads.org/exploringjesus)
Praying for One Another
(Here are some ideas from the study to help focus your time in prayer as a group. Use by themselves or along with other prayer requests.)
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Pray that we would surrender to Christ’s love - on his terms, not our own.
Pray for the people that God has placed in your life who don’t know what to make of Christ. Pray that God would
reveal Himself to them and pray that they would be open/interesting in joining an Exploring Jesus Dinner.
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